Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

Posted on: March 9, 2011 3:50 am

Montreal Canadiens coach Jacque Martin all but called for the suspension of Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, who minutes earlier Tuesday sent young Habs forward Max Pacioretty to the hospital for at least an overnight stay.

“The league has to deal with those issues,” Martin told reporters after his team’s 4-1 victory over the Burins at Bell Center, a game marred by the scary collision. “It’s not the first time. It seems to be getting worse. The league has to take some responsibility.”

As frightening as Pacioretty’s headfirst collision with the so-called turnbuckle, word came out later that he was able to move all his extremities and was conscious. His agent, Alec Schall, sent a message via Twitter that Pacioretty “is going to be OK.”

There’s no telling how long the 22-year-old from Connecticut will be out of action, but debate raged into the morning on how long Chara should sit -- if at all.

“We were racing for the puck and battling for position,” Chara told reporters after the game. “I was riding him out and it was very unfortunate that at the same time I pushed him, he kind of leaned and jumped up a little bit and hit the glass extension.”

Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien said Chara is not a dirty player, something that’s not really in dispute. But there are a few things working against Chara: his scuffle with Pacioretty the last time these two rivals met, the score (it was 4-0 when Pacioretty went down in the final minute of the second period), the fact the puck was already well up ice when he finished the check and the recent scrutiny of head injuries.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie wrote that it’s hardly an easy decision for the league’s disciplinarians, who could be minus VP Colin Campbell’s voice since his son, Gregory, plays for Boston.

Personally, I didn't see or sense any malice or obvious intent to injure on the play but one would have to be a mind reader to know for certain what exactly Chara was thinking at that moment. Who knows, really?

Chara was given an interference penalty and a game misconduct becaues Pacioretty was injured on the play. Since the Bruins don’t play again until Thursday, the league has a little bit of time to figure out if any more punishment is needed.

BETTMAN TAKES A STAND: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman hasn't given up in hockey in Arizona, even if it appears to be the easiest path once again.

The Goldwater Institute, a public policy group, who is seeking legal action to stop the City of Glendale's $100 million bond sale that would clear way for Chicago investor Matthew Hulsizer to take over the Phoenix Coyotes.

"It's time for Goldwater to stand down," he said. "In light of their conduct in this matter, I question whether this is really an organization concerned with the public interest."

Bettman affirmed the league continues to support the city's deal with team buyer Matthew Hulsizer.

"Our commitment remains as strong as ever," he said. "But time is running out."

The Vancouver Sun's Cam Cole said the NHL is going to let Glendale to explore every option before the franchise is allowed back into Canada.

If it were put to a vote of the NHL player membership at large, rest assured the league would be back to three Canadian cities, not thinking about adding a seventh in one of the coldest, windiest parts of the land — and Phoenix would be granted exempt status as a destination of choice, unto eternity, regardless of viability as a hockey market.

FORMER NHLERS VISIT TROOPS: NHL Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald, former NHL goaltender Mark LaForest and retired forward Pierre Turgeon were in a group of former players who visited Afghanistan on Tuesday.

They met some of the 2,800 Canadians serving in Afghanistan and even played in a pickup ball hockey game, which was dubbed "Hockey Morning in Kandahar."

"Everyone's thankful that we're here, but I've got to be honest with you, it's just a privilege for us to be here," Turgeon told The Canadian Press.

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Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

come on Pats you should know centre is the correct spelling of the word,it's you Americans that get it wrong

Since: Aug 21, 2006

Posted on: March 10, 2011 3:54 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

i think Chara was looking for the player not the stanchion.

Since: Aug 21, 2006

Posted on: March 10, 2011 3:51 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

not much logic to this one,following on from your dismissing intent based on result,Chara got an interference penalty for the late hit and a game penalty for the injury,should the penal code be of indeterminate length depending on how quick a recovery the injured player has? if so some guys would have very short careers!

Since: Mar 9, 2011

Posted on: March 9, 2011 7:18 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

Don't have to put myself in Chara's mind. Let's say someone pisses you off at the job and your job involves hitting people, you're sure gona be more physical with this guy. I don't know why you ask me if I saw the replay, of course I saw the replay, Chara's hands are way over Max's head pushing toward the corner of the glass...

The game is so fast that losing it for a fraction of a second may result in heavy consquences... I'm just saying that Chara's probably knew where he was on the ice and wanted to apply a memorable hit and gave a really bad one.

Anyway the NHL's has given their verdict and there's nothing more we can say.

Since: Nov 14, 2009

Posted on: March 9, 2011 6:03 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

HAHAHAHA, Frenchies! No suspensions... no fines, either. Enjoy your win, and while you're at it, learn how to spell "center" and "Canadians" correctly. BTW, Labatt tastes like Canadian piss-water.

Since: Feb 10, 2007

Posted on: March 9, 2011 3:51 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

Word just came down from the NHL: no suspension, no fines for Chara. It was unfortunate that it happened, but the league got this one right.

AS EXPECTED ... now Le Habs and their Cirque De Ole' ole' ole' "fans" can add this to the long list of things they seem to be endlessly crying about.

Since: Oct 8, 2009

Posted on: March 9, 2011 3:43 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

It looked to me on the replay like Chara was focused directly on the partition and therfore intended to drive the Habs player into it. That's how it looked to me. That doesn't mean that is really what his intentions were. What will matter is whether the league thinks it was an intentional thing or accidental on Chara's part. Campbell will probably recuse himself here so someone else will make the determination. I personally think that the league will suspend Chara for a couple of games.

Since: Aug 13, 2006

Posted on: March 9, 2011 2:45 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

So Mc Tavish, your in Chara's mind and know what he meant to do? Did you watch the replay? All radio stations say that Chara was going for the puck, didn't get to the puck and therefore took the body to Max and it was unfortunate that both players were there at an unfortunate time and the wrong place at the wrong timebottom line: 2 players at the wrong place and a part of the boards that made Max hit his upper body into is a plan that Chara had in MIND and set him up

lol

Since: Jul 10, 2007

Posted on: March 9, 2011 2:37 pm

Morning Skate: Should Chara be suspended?

If Chara is suspended I bet it will be two games or less. I think this is like the Jones hit on Bergeron. Not comparing the hits just comparing the culprits. Both had clean records at the time of the incident and due to the result of the play the league needed to do something. Again, I am not comparing the incidents.